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Published: September 23rd 2015
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SoBe Hostel
Prison cell or SoBe Hostel dorm, you decide. Getting to Miami from Kissimmee was a bit of farcical ball ache. There was a mix-up with my shuttle bus from Kissimmee to Miami which was meant to arrive at 5:45am - meaning I was up at 4:45am, packed and ready to go - however at 6:10am I called them to ask what was going on and they informed me that when they changed my reservation the evening before due to "technical issues", they changed it to 5:45pm. Brilliant. So stuck in Kissimmee for a full 12 hours more with no car, no room to kick-back in and absolutely nothing to do locally. Joy. So, after a humid walk to Target, a few hours in Starbucks savouring my first cup of tea in 2 weeks, and an hour of doing a Sudoku whilst eating my blueberry pancakes in IHOP, I got on the shuttle (which was an hour and 15 minutes late on top of the 12 hours). The driver; a Mexican who knew three words of English - "hi" and "we go" drove as if he was racing at the Moto GP. Apparently the lane markers are just a guide and if he wants to use the hard shoulder (and
Miami Beach
The photo says it all; Miami Beach bay-be! grass bank) then why not!
Made it in one piece, thankfully. Dropped off at my hostel; which initially I thought was a mistake and that he'd taken me to a local nightclub. No no, turns out it was my hostel; the number 1 party hostel of South Beach. Brilliant. Just what you want after an 18 hour day. Quickly changed my reservation from 6 nights to 2 (I'll extend it if I like it, I thought). Got to my room (or prison, as it looked) and turned out I was the only occupant. Cool - nice night's sleep for me. Oh how wrong I could be I realised as I lay in my bed which was shaking from the vibrations of the music in the bar directly below. After a broken 2 hours of sleep, I got up and booked a new hostel sharpish.
Following this, I went to the Jewish Museum of Florida - I always try to check out the local Jewry whenever I can. It turns out that Miami is quite a Jewish area and according to the docent I talk with there three counties of Miami hold the the greatest
number of Jews living in the diaspora (outside of Israel). Explored Ocean Drive and the beautiful Art Deco architecture, and wandered along the pristine beach. I had heard that the beaches were pretty good but I have to say, they are beautiful - clean sand, clear, calm waters and even free sunscreen in places. You can't beat a walk along the shore as the sun is setting; the atmosphere is serene - which is not something I thought I'd find in party central of Miami.
A wander around South Beach shows me the beauty of the architecture as well as the vagrant people - many of whom seem high on drugs or alcohol, and apparently are "in love wit' 'chu girl, mm". The nightlife of Miami lives up to it's reputation. Expensive drinks, banging music and jovial 21 year old Americans enjoying their legal right to drink (and over-drink) now they've reached adulthood.
My second hostel, The Freehand, is located north of South Beach on 28th and Indian Creek. It used to be a hotel, and as such the dorms have their own private bathrooms, and built in bunkbeds with privacy curtains, and quirky
box chairs so you can socialise in your room. The quirky Native American furnishings and design are beautiful and welcoming, and it even has a pool and outside bar. Much better, much more
me. I've felt that as a solo female traveller, the streets of Miami aren't the best place to be wandering at night, so I'll stick to the beautiful poolside bar within the comfort and security of my hostel. The complimentary breakfast is much better than SoBe Hostel and I sneakily take some fruit and muffins back to my room so I have lunch sorted - such is the life of a traveller on a budget.
The days are warm and sunny and the evenings have brought a few thunderstorms. Proper thunderstorms, not like the piddly-rain we get back in the UK, but buckets of rain that flood the roads with inches of water in less than 10 minutes. I like it though, it's like walking through a shower which is pretty refreshing after 32 degree heat. One day was 95%!h(MISSING)umidity and typically, it was the day I was doing an open-topped bus tour. The plastic seats didn't help matters; with the humidity making
Taking A Rest
Palm trees, glorious sunshine, and funky wooden seats. it impossible for your sweat to dissipate, the whole bus looked like they had wet themselves when they stood up with giant sweat patches on their bums. Needless to say, it made me chuckle, until I saw my own sweat-patch on my beige shorts; nice.
Downtown Miami is what you'd expect, tall buildings and lots of them. Little Havana is pretty, with it's population all speaking Spanish - even the schools teach in Spanish, with English as the second language - it has definitely retained it's roots with Cuba. The Coral Cable district is beautiful, full of expensive houses made of - you guessed it - coral, and Coconut Grove with its coconut trees (of which caused 8 deaths last year according to our tour guide). We dodge, duck, dive, dip and dodge the overhanging branches as well as bridges and cable lines - it seems that the city aren't as anally-retentive about health and safety as the UK, and a simple "don't stand up or you'll die" message from the tour guide is enough. We pass Star Island - home to, you guessed it, a number of wealthy stars. You can't even get on
to the island unless you show ID and are on
the list. I contemplate trying to get on under the rouse that I'm the actress Sara Gilbert - of which a number of people tell me I look like, including the Immigration Officer at Orlando airport when I landed. But I move on, and after a long, hot and sticky wait at the marina, head back to the hostel. I say farewell to my new friend Anémone who is off to New Orleans and set about an evening of sorting out my pictures and writing in my journal of my day's exploits. Awoken at 1am by my new roommates who have just arrived from Cornwall. Get chatting in the morning and they seem really nice and I share with them some of the info that I've picked up since being here as if I'm a local who's lived here for years. "The
Local bus is only 25cents, get
such and such shuttle to Key West, make sure you see
xyz". What can I say, I like to be helpful when I can.
One more day in Miami, which I'm going to spend at the beach and at
the pool - thankfully humidity is back down to the 70s, but I aim to keep cool n the 32C heat by doing my best hippopotamus impression and submerging myself under water save for my nose and eyes.
In conclusion, is there more to Miami than partying? Yes. Like anywhere you go, it is what you make of it. But for a solo female traveller who is looking for more than getting wasted, I'd say that there isn't more than a few days of things to do unless laying on a beach turning a shade of maroon is your kind of thing.
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